With high and medium voltage switch gear an accidental internal arc could occur. Such an arc is of high power and causes gases of high temperatures and a sudden increase in pressure in the housing for the switch gear. To relieve the pressure, a typical switch gear is usually provided with a blowout panel, which folds open by the high pressure of the arc.
If no other means are provided, then the hot gases would be blown out of the switch gear housing. In order to avoid damages to other objects and persons around the switch gear housing, sometimes an arc absorber is arranged in front of the blowout panel. Such an arc absorber contains ceramic elements with a plurality of parallel channels, through which the hot gases flow. Due to the large contact surface in the ceramic elements, heat of the gases is transferred into the ceramic elements, reducing the heat of the gases. Such a device for cooling exhaust gases is for example known from EP 1450458.
To have a sufficient cooling capacity with such ceramic elements a substantial length is required along which the gases are guided.
US 2009141432 describes a device for cooling hot gases caused by an accidental electric arc, which device has a number of plate like elements stacked together and spaced apart. The hot gases are guided through the channels between the elements.
The elements are provided with a layer of phase change material, like a metallic salt. When the metallic salt is heated by the hot gases, it will change phase from a solid state to a gas state. This phase change of the metallic salt will extract heat from the hot gases resulting in cooled gas.
Such a device is difficult to manufacture and it is difficult to ensure a good contact between the phase change material and the hot gases.